Family
by the ticking clock
Summary: Will thought he knew the definition of family. Now, he's not so sure. Spoilers for season 1.


**Ohmygoodness this series is so hard to write for! It's so emotionally intense and complicated that I had so much trouble getting this little story out. As such, this fic is a mess. It's short and weird and doesn't make much sense, but I have a bigger, better one planned so stay tuned for that one.**

 **Let me know if any of these guys seem OC and/or what you think of the tory with a review!**

Will's mind is ravaged every waking hour of the day.

When he is unconscious he is blissfully ignorant, his dreams sweet, flashing with hints and memories of the others. Capheaus laughs under the hot sun as he watches the Zebras graze. Nomi dreams of her first Pride. Wolfgang is awake, staring at a blank white wall, a beer in his hand. Will's dream bursts with color as their consciousness's brush—rich ambers and brilliant reds. Sun is also awake. Her mind is a rough, calloused touch. Lito is dreaming of tangled sheets, rushed breaths, the feeling of skin against skin. Heat. Love. Kala dreams of riding the back of an elephant, her arms thrown wide as if to embrace the whole world. Riley is asleep beside him, her hand tangled with his, her breath hot against his chest. Will struggles to keep his eyes closed for as long as possible, but as the sun creeps over the horizon, he has no choice.

His eyes open, and Whispers is there.

He will never be able to describe the sensation. It is like being stabbed, like being electrocuted. It is a sharp pain at the base of his skull that never goes away. Will breathes, knows precisely how deep Whispers breathes as well. Knows that his mouth tastes like coffee and cigarette smoke and that a storm is coming in Iceland.

The pain is sharp and insistent, and the others feel it as well.

Riley wakes with a sharp gasp, her fingers digging hard against his, her eyes wet and slightly wild. She combs his hair back from his face and hums a soft lullaby in Icelandic. Will listens with his eyes half closed, his head pounding, his breathing in perfect time with hers. They share sensations as easily as they share breaths—he tastes her breath, knows how he feels under her fingers, loves the quick beat of her heart and the ache in her chest this lullaby brings. He watches the flashbacks in quick succession—icy road, blood, Magnus-

Her pain swells to a wild ache, and Will crushes her against him, covers her face with kisses. Her eyelids, her nose, her wet cheeks, her mouth. _I'm right here._

Riley cups his cheek with one hand, and Will opens his eyes a fraction of an inch. She is close enough that he can only see her eyes, brilliant and red rimmed with tears. He drowns in them.

"Hey," Riley whispers softly, "Good morning."

Will smiles, holds her closer, tangles his fingers in her loose t-shirt, relishes the physical closeness with her. "Good morning."

"It's still so strange, isn't it?" She says, serious. "You're really here. You're real."

"We're real," he says, tasting the plural, surprised that he is so comfortable with it. "We're real."

* * *

Slowly, and then all at once, they become comfortable with each other.

Will is no longer surprised when he turns a corner and finds Nomi sitting on a bench in a park.

"Hey," She says, and pats the space beside her.

"Hi," He says and sits. Something strikes his head, wet, familiar, "Is it raining where you are?"

As he speaks, the world changes, molding to fit her surroundings. Will finds himself in an apartment, rain beats like drums against the windows, sharp, insistent and fierce. Nom is curled up in an arm chair, sipping something that looks—and, Will notes, also _tastes—_ like hot chocolate. "You okay?" She asks.

"That," Will says, sighing, "is a difficult question to answer."

Nomi understands. She nods, holding out the hot chocolate. "Here."

Will takes a careful, scalding sip. Warmth spreads throughout his whole body, a comfort. "Thank you."

"Who is it?" Neets breezes into the room, a second mug in her hand. "Cop guy?"

Will smirks. "That's who I am? Cop guy?"

Nomi rolls her eyes. "She loves you."

"Hi, Will!" Neets nudges Nomi with a foot, Will feels her touch, feels the slight tingle of warmth that spreads through Nomi's belly, the rush of blood to her cheeks as Aminita flings herself into her partners arms, nearly spilling their hot chocolate.

"Hi," he says, and can't help but laugh.

"He says hi," Nomi says, grinning. She loves that Neets has just started addressing all of them directly. Will can feel her amusement in his own chest, rising into a laugh.

"Are you alright?" Nomi asks, her voice suddenly serious, intent. "Whispers-"

"Knows where I am," Will sighs, tilting his head back. He stares up at the ceiling of Nomi's apartment, follows the ceiling fan's endless circles with his eyes until his head spins, "but it doesn't hurt quite as much."

"We're always here," Nomi says, meaning her and Neets, "if you need us, or…" the words fade. She's unsure how to finish.

Will understands the sentiment behind the words. "Thank you," he whispers through a tight throat. "Really. I'll try not to…you know, kill us all." The words are meant to be teasing, but he knows that they are not. They come out strangled and raw and hurting.

Nomi's eyes are wet. "Oh, come here," she says, and pulls Will forward into an embrace. Will does not think he will ever be used to the sensation of feeling someone, touching them when they only exist in his mind. Nom is solid and warm. Will relaxes against her shoulder and is embarrassed to find that his cheeks are wet.

And then they are all there—Riley, pressing a kiss to his forehead, Lito, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Capheaus, rubbing a hand against Will's hair as if Will is a child. Sun, offering him a small smile, Kala, kissing his cheek. He can feel the salt of his tears sting against her lips. Wolfgang stands in the corner by Neets, nods his head a little, as if in respect.

 _Let him try and find us,_ Sun says, the words echoing to all of them. Her grin is feral and fiercely protective.

Will feels a kind of warmth blossom in his chest. How strange that these once strangers, these people who live on opposite sides of the planet, have become so close. Stranger still, that he cares for all of them so very deeply, and that they care for him.

He thought that he knew the definition of a family. Now, he is not so sure. He is wrapped in the arms of someone hundreds of miles away, sharing thoughts and experiences with people who come from completely different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs, and yet they understand each other. They accept each other. They love, challenge and protect each other.

Isn't that what a family is supposed to do, but her really does?

* * *

Will does not dare visit the others, because if Whispers knows where they are…if he finds them, Will does to think he can Iive with himself. Angelica died to protect them. Will does not want to die, but he does not want the others to die either. Perhaps he is to much of a coward, but he can't kill himself for them. Still, that does not mean he can keep his thoughts to himself. That doesn't mean he can't stop himself from visiting-

He desperately tries to explain this to them until Kala raises her hand and says, "Will. We don't care."

But they really should care. In a matter of days, weeks, months, they could all be dead or in the hands of BPO. Because of him.

It is Wolfgang, strangely who finds the words to comfort him. "There are worse things than dying, Will," he says, quietly. "And we'll protect each other. We all protect each other."

"And," Capheus says, stepping forward, saying what everyone else is thinking, "that means protecting _you._ You need us."

Will realizes, looking around at them all these people who are so vastly different from him and yet so very much the same, that he does.


End file.
